Man-made synthetic polymer yarns have been hitherto comprised of filaments and fibers of an essentially smooth and constant diameter. The filaments and fibers of prior art are essentially uniform and lack transverse stripes or closely spaced short thicker and thinner segments characterized by crests and troughs. Know textile filaments and fibers, man-made of synthetic material for use in yarns and fabrics, lack further a structure consisting of sequences of short and closely spaced segments which are physically and chemically different from the remainder of the filamental trunk. This lack of structural detail in the filaments and yarns of prior art limits the usefulness and variety of the present day fabrics made from the same. The commercial nonwoven fabrics, in particular, are made with a binder which renders such fabrics stiff and unappealing to the touch and to the eye. The current texturing processes are also considerably slower compared to the speed at which synthetic yarns are spun or otherwise produced.
The object of the present invention is to provide a textile filament of synthetic man-made material characterized by a new refined transverse and longitudinal structure. Another object of this invention is to provide a method affording a greater control over the uniformity as well as variation of the structure of the produced filaments. A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for the structuring and technique of synthetic filaments and yarns which is subject to computer control.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method affording structuring and texturing rates commensurate to the highest rates at which the filaments can be produced. Another object of the invention is to provide textile yarns of synthetic material which have structural integrity even in absence of twist--such yarns comprise both monofilament yarns and staple yarns.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new high speed method for heating of yarn that lends itself to control by a computer loop. This method comprises advancing the yarn longitudinally and exposing said yarn to a sequence of fast plasma bursts delivered from a plasma burst applicator positioned in the vicinity of the yarn. A microwave cavity is an excellent means to serve as the said plasma burst applicator.
The plasma bursts heat the yarn in closely spaced sequences in the space-time frame. These sequencies can be phased in such a manner so as to heat either a fraction- or the total whole of the treated yarn. The present method of heating of this invention differs from the method of prior art in the discontinuous manner in which the quanta of energy are coupled to the moving yarn, in the rapid rise time and fall time of each said quantum of energy, in the extremely rapid sequence in which the said quanta are pulsed, and in the ability of controling the energy content, the duration, and time-profile characteristics of individual pulses and their combination in the trains of their sequences.